Demon
by FlyingShibaInu
Summary: The Demon Prosecutor has found another autopsy report from DL-6. After a channeling session, he wants to talk to Phoenix.


**A/N: Inspired by Rire who belongs to darqx! (+18 warning to be safe if you're searching that)**

**Whatever genre this is, it's not my strong point. And this is kind of weird. ****Entertaining one of my ridiculous plot bunnies.**

* * *

_Miles Edgeworth… Demon Prosecutor…_

_I swear his eyes flash yellow. Creepy!_

_DEMON! A demon, I say! _

_The Demon Prosecutor with a floating piece of paper was captured in this photo! Is he truly a demon, after all?_

* * *

Gumshoe would never dream of sitting in a bar next to Miles, but here he was, in the celebratory party after Miles was found innocent. Phoenix was ordering orange juice for Maya and debating if she should even be here in the first place.

Miles had been quiet this whole night. Gumshoe had thought that Miles should be relieved, or happy, or something at all. Now, Miles looked… lost, as he swirled his glass. "Something's wrong."

That got Gumshoe's attention. "Sir?"

"_Miles Edgeworth, a person who miraculously survived DL-6._ A miracle, they said… more like a curse." Miles raised his glass to his lips. "_He should have died in that elevator_… Now that's more accurate..."

Gumshoe knew he wouldn't get anything more than that by questioning, so he kept quiet and drank his beer and made sure his boss wouldn't do something stupid. His boss didn't do anything stupid, but there were more 'demon' rumors than usual.

* * *

The business manager refused to testify in court, and that's when it happened, when Phoenix witnessed the true Demon Prosecutor for the first time.

"Tsk tsk tsk…" Miles wagged his finger. "Such a shame… I had hoped things wouldn't come to this."

When Miles opened his eyes, Phoenix felt chill went down his spine. Miles' eyes were yellow, strangely like that of a cat. Phoenix scolded himself for inappropriate comparison because those eyes were clearly _demonic_ and nothing else.

How he'd thought, back in the day the Demon Prosecutor was all over the newspaper, that it was nothing but photoshopped digital pictures. Oh, how he was wrong.

Unaffected by the effect he was having on his audiences, Miles brought out a file and started taunting the witness of the content of the file, as if the subject was a mundane everything life and not someone's personal matters.

"S… Stop…" The woman whispered. "Stop, please stop! If people find out... I… I'll..."

"If you are going to say 'choose death'..." Miles smirked. "You should know that it is of no concern to me."

_Edgeworth… How can you be so cold!?_

* * *

There was a manila folder tucked under his arm.

"Hey, Edgeworth!" Phoenix caught up to him in the courthouse lobby. Seeing him at all was rare nowadays. You could never be sure when he will fly away to Europe. Phoenix pointed at the folder in Miles' arms. "What's that?"

"A case file," Miles said.

"Duh."

"... It is for an old case."

"How old?"

"The statute of limitations has ended."

"Oh, so you're studying old cases. Cool…" Phoenix knew that was lame. "Anyway… I'm inviting you... to the celebration party… Why are you giving me that look?"

"Wright," Miles sighed. "There is no need to walk on eggshells around me."

"Oh, oh! Okay…" Phoenix grinned and scratched his head. Easier said than done, you know, when magazines interpret you as a telekinesis freak… or something.

* * *

The whole case was a mess, but in the end, Maya was safe and the truth had come to light. Later in the evening, Miles came to Phoenix's office and asked Maya for a channeling session.

Maya had said that a channeling session could help people come to terms with their demons. Miles didn't appreciate the joke. Since they were at Wright & Co, the office could act as the Channeling Chamber. Phoenix watched as Miles and Maya disappeared into his office.

After around ten minutes, Maya came out of the room.

"Mr. Edgeworth asked me to channel his dad… He became really quiet. He's there, Nick…"

* * *

Miles was sitting on the couch, hugging his knees.

"Edgeworth?" Phoenix called. "Um… you okay?"

"... I had suspicions." Miles looked passed him. "I found this after… Gant. Read it"

Phoenix's fingers brushed across the paper and he looked down. He didn't know why and how a manilla folder was now in his hands. _Is this the same one Miles was studying last year?_

Phoenix took a seat on the couch across from Miles and examine the folder. Inside was a report, an autopsy report of a victim in a case in which the statute of limitations had run out.

DL-6.

Gregory Edgeworth.

"This is the real one." Miles talked to the floor. "Or perhaps you could call this the updated version?"

Something was different. Phoenix studied the autopsy report for a long time, especially the cause of death and the detail about the injury.

"… How?" Phoenix poked the paper a few times. "This… this doesn't make any sense!"

"No, it does," Miles whispered.

_No it doesn't._ "Is it oxygen deprivation?"

"Close enough." Miles brought his knees closer to himself. "He died because of me. I suspected, but now I know it to be true."

"What?" Phoenix asked. "But it says right here-"

"Cause of death: Unknown."

"But…" Phoenix reread the file again. He couldn't trust what he was seeing. "If it's oxygen deprivation, it can't be your fault. And it should've been the gunshot, right? I mean, we had that trial, and this autopsy is fake-"

"No. This is real. Von Karma didn't kill my father. It was me."

_But if it's not oxygen deprivation or the gunshot wound then what is...? But it's not you!_

"Don't make that face, Wright. The autopsy report does not lie. The cause of death is unknown."

"Then what the heck happened?"

"_If even adults fainted from lack of oxygen, what happened to a mere child?"_ Miles finally made eye contact with him. "I was about to die… I should have died that day, in the elevator."

"What the hell, Edgeworth?" Phoenix shouted. "What are you saying?"

"I was _supposed_ to die that day, in the elevator," Miles corrected. He put his legs down and took a deep breath. "Wright, Listen. I was dying, that is a fact. And my father... My father made a deal with a demon, to save my life, and the demon now owns my life."

"Okay."

"Sometimes he… likes to make me live up to my reputation. He's feeding off of human emotions, but usually he is sleeping. He has never done anything illegal. He has not endangered my life..."

"Okay." Phoenix scanned through the autopsy report again, more like buying himself time. He had repeated _what the hell _in his head for an unhealthy amount.

It would be nice if this was a joke, but _Miles Edgeworth_ does not joke. Not about a case, not the autopsy, never his own dad. _This is the absolute truth he is entrusting you with._ Take it seriously.

Phoenix looked Miles over and settled with, "You're alive."

Miles was unimpressed. "I am aware."

"You could've _died_."

Miles said, "That is nothing new."

Phoenix's brain was still trying to catch up with all this. A demon, really, okay. Phoenix believed him. He could try to believe-believe it later. For now, take it at face value. "So, a demon visited the elevator you were on, and what happened in there explains the cause of death, and now the demon is sharing your body with you… And it says here that the gunshot wound..."

"It is a postmortem injury, that is, injuries occurring after death."

Phoenix really didn't want to think how many times Miles had reread this autopsy report. What a depressing thought. "So, Manfred didn't actually murder your dad?"

"He intended to." Miles scowled. "Manfred couldn't have known my father was already dead. He deserved a death penalty. I do not question it at all, nor do I feel remorse or pity."

"Woah woah, okay." Phoenix wasn't trying to bring up the moral question. After all, it was a closed case, for the better. Anyway, now he knew one thing he wished to confirm. "So… you ran away because of this? About the… the true cause of death?"

Miles solemnly nodded. "Wright, I know this must be new to you. It is understandable if you could not sympathize with me. This autopsy report… It challenges my belief. I may be innocent in the eyes of the law, but… now I know how _innocent_ I am."

"I don't agree, you know." Phoenix leaned forward. "It's not your fault. It's not your choice. Definitely not your action."

"It was my existence."

"Edgeworth…"

"And if… if my father didn't make that deal…" Miles looked down. "Maybe it would have been better."

Phoenix gasped. "But you'd be dead!"

"And my father would have been alive!"

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence as his words sank in. Phoenix had his hands on his knees clenching and unclenching.

"Nevermind, Manfred..." Miles mumbled.

At that moment, Phoenix had many inappropriate answers in his head. _I want to thank your dad_ or _I'm glad you're here_ and even _I prefer you than your dad. _He ignored all of them.

"I don't know much about demon things…" Phoenix said. "But I'm sure your dad wants you to live."

Miles' gaze remained at the floor. "I know that."

"You're not a murderer, Miles. You're not a demon."

Miles made a noncommittal hum. Phoenix didn't know how to truly convince him, but he would keep trying.

* * *

_You should know the price of a life, Gregory Edgeworth._

I understand. Please save my son's life, even if it means giving up my own.


End file.
